#PalazzoWine DCC

This past May for Mother's Day, Don treated Gayle and I to the buffet at the Dallas Country Club! I love the Sunday buffet anyway, but this day was wonderful! Moms and their little sons and daughters running around everywhere, grandmas and grandpas being honored on this special day, and pictures taken everywhere you look! It was beautiful inside and out! 

 We dined in Turtle Creek Grill by the fireplace. Gift boxes of scented soaps were given to each mom at the reception area. Food was in every room and hallway elegantly displayed and gracefully served. It's what mothers dream of on this day (not having to cook!) I so appreciated the time of relaxation with Gayle and Don. I would loved to have been with my own daughters, but they live so opposite of each other (STL and BPT) and I can't divide myself in two pieces on one day! So FaceTime helped so much to be able to see them and talk with them and tell them how much I love them and what wonderful mothers they have become!

Aaron Benson, the club sommelier, stopped by the table to share a wine as a surprise for Mother's Day. It was delicious!

2012 Palazzo Cuvee' Blanc ($55), inspired by the great Bordeaux Blancs of France. It is "beautifully balanced and elegant" food wine made predominantly from Semillion grapes with a touch of Sauvignon Blanc (5%). A very "superior food wine".

Enjoy!

#BishopArtsDist #BlvdierDallas

Don and I recently met another couple in the Bishop Arts District for drinks and appetizers. I love the unusualness of this area. It looks like no other place in Dallas in which I am familiar. Located in North Oak Cliff, it is the home to many shops such as restaurants, art galleries, coffee shops, bars and boutiques. It's a fun place to visit, dine, shop, and people watch! I especially love the chocolate shop, Dude, Sweet Chocolate and Eno's Pizza!

The couple that we met chose Boulevardier as a location to meet and talk about paper, wine, and food! Chris is from England, so he was quite pleasant to listen to during the visit. Chris is very passionate about his family tree and a business his family had during the early 1900's. He and Don were cooking something up for the creative center at Clampitt Paper which sounded pretty interesting. We have visited their home in Lakewood and have seen the history and art that was passed down to Chris during the last century. Some of it will eventually be on display at the creative center.

While dining at Boulevardier, Chris and Don ordered a bottle of wine by Bret Brothers. The 2012 vintage is a white burgundy from France rated highly by critics.

This is a great Chardonnay that has aged well. Drink until 2016+ ($46).

Love the tees the servers wear at this restaurant!

Enjoy!

#EducatedGuessWn Roots Run Deep Winery in Napa!

This past summer we moved up near Belt Line to be near Cullum's school for his last two years at RISD. So we've been dining at some old places we used to dine when Don lived up in Addison. Chamberlain's is one of my favorite up north of HP/UP that I like for seafood. While I was on a very restricted diet for swimsuit season, I was still able to eat salmon, asparagus, and taste Don's wine.

This wine label says it all! Very interesting way they came up with the name of this wine. Below you will see that this a blend of many grapes, but mostly a Cabernet Sauvignon and that is why Don chose it as a glass of house wine for the evening. Very good wine!

The website says they are working on a location to have visitors, but right now the property is not permitted for tours and tastings.

Their other wine is called Hypothesis. Check it out here! It's produced by a BRAND new way of winemaking called FLASH DENTENTE. Well, I've never heard of it. It was used in France in the 1990's and only introduced in America in 2009. An interesting read for those that love wine and how it's produced.

Otherwise, just make an educated guess!

I'm done with the diet!

Kitchen LTO #KitchenLTO DeLoach Wines #DeLoach_Wines

Don's Vistage group (CEO's) had their annual retreat in April, which is usually out of town, but this year it was held in Big D in Trinity Groves. The retreat culminated with a dinner at Kitchen LTO right around the corner from Kate Weiser Chocolates! It was a blustery night, with severe storms looming over the region, and we left as soon as we finished eating.

Kitchen LTO is a permanent pop-up restaurant that reinvents itself twice a year. Two up-and-coming chefs and artists get to have a home in the restaurant for six months. So essentially a new restaurant is born two times a year. This means that there is a new menu concept and new art on the walls. The featured chef and artist now until December 31 is Chef Anastacia Quinones and Artist Crimson Shults. Check out the menu and all the information about the chef and artist on the link above. It's a cool concept!

For my wine choice of the night, I chose a 2013 La Reine Chardonnay ($17) from DeLoach Vineyards in California. This wine is a blend from three world-renowned appellations. Monterrey grapes give this full-bodied Chardonnay its dense fruit flavors, Sonoma County contributes to its luscious mouthfeel and texture, while Mendocino County adds brightness and add a long lingering finish.

Enjoy this California Chardonnay!

Kitchen LTO

Other Rose's We've Had This Past Summer!

There are so many roses' we've tasted this summer! While they are still on my mind and before it gets really cold for some of you, I wanted to share them!

Forgot to take a pic of the wine actually in the bottle!

2013 Skin Deep, Vin De Pays Des Cotes Catalanes ($16), a product of France, bottled by Dept. 66, Maury, France. This rose' is imported by Orin Swift Cellars in Sausalito, CA. I had this in Beaumont with my youngest daughter, Abigail and her husband, Daniel. He had picked it up at the local supermarket as a surprise for Abs and me. We liked it, but after reading reviews about it, some people say it is high in alcohol, so purchase at your own risk. So it's 15.7% as opposed to the usual 13.5 or 14%?! If you don't drink the whole bottle, then you're good, right?! We thought it was great!!!!

Chemin des Sables 2014 La Cote Revee ($10) light in color with a salted melon finish, not sweet but dry. Very delightful! The quintessential French rose' the people in Specs told me as I was looking at the bottle!

Sorry! Another empty bottle!

2014 Miraval ($22) produced at Chateau Miraval owned by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. It received rave reviews from wine critics. Wine Spectator named their first vintage in 2013 in the top 100 wines of that year. The retailer describes it as an 'intriguing pale pink rose with strawberry, white pear and floral aromas' with summer berry, wild herb and tangy tangerine flavours balanced by a refreshing acidity.' 

2014 Jolie Folle ($18) Vin de Pays de Mediterranee Rose A liter of rose from the Provence region in southern France. Do you you really need anything else during the spring and summer months? Light, zesty and classic, this is quintessential rose from Provence but with the added bonus of more volume and less drain on your pocket. The grapes for this wine are picked at night to maximize freshness and purity of fruit. The result is a gorgeous wine that is bursting with lush red fruits, tangy spice and a dash of minerality.

2014 Borsao Rose' ($10) "Red luminescent color with warm glows. Has a strong aroma of berries and sweets. Very young and fresh in the mouth, well balanced with its acidity, rich in floral nuances and spices."

I was afraid to try it, but found it to my liking. Very nice rose' from Spain! Garnacha seems to be perfect for rosé. This is a very good wine ... fairly complex, not sweet, just really good.

2014 Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, ($28)  Robert Sinskey Vineyards, Los Carneros grown, produced and bottled in Napa, CA. A dry and aromatic rose' from whole cluster pressed organic Pinot Noir grapes. 

Until next time, enjoy your rose's! 

Siegel's Liquor and Beer #Siegelswinebuyer

Love the antique sign!

In late spring/early summer, I read in Crave dfw that there was going to be a French Rose' tasting at Siegel's, so I called and made reservations for Don and I.  Spring is the season to begin drinking roses'. French roses' have had a growing appeal in America because of its food friendliness, its gold standard quality, and the joie de vivre it reflects.

For centuries it has been a staple of in the south of France as an allocation wine for a lunch, seaside wine. Particularly in the coastal Provence region, the heart of the world's dry rose' production, a passion for dry pink permeates the culture. It outsells white wine in France.

In America, we sometimes equate pink as sweet, like a sugary White Zinfandel. But we are coming out of that misconception and realizing that dry rose' wines are not the same as a blush wine. 

Rose' comes from the French word pink and it is a category of wine, just as white and red are. Some are fuller, some are lighter. The textures, colors and flavors all vary even within a single wine region. But Provence wines all some of the same characteristics being that they are bright, dry, fresh and crisp.

I found three out of the eight we tasted that evening that were wonderful.

2014 Jongieux Rose', Domaine Rosiere ($13) "This wine is made from 100% Gamay fruit dedicated for Rose' production. Only 975 cases are produced each year. The Rosier Rose' is wine of striking freshness, purity and lift with a pale, strawberry color and white stone, flowers and wild red-berry fruit."

2013 le Baux en Provence Rose', Mas Ste Berthe ($20) "This wine is a blend of 65% Grenache, 24% Syrah, 4% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 3% Consult, and 4% Mourvedre. It is remarkably dry and fruity, with pink-grapefruit, watermelon, strawberry, kiwi, and spice notes. The rose' is a perfect match for poached salmon with watercress sauce, Thai and Chinese dishes, as well as all summer provencal-type." 

2014 Maestracci E Prove Rose' ($20) "This is one of the more vivid such as evocations of Corsican Rose' you can find. Featuring full bodied flavors of myrtle, lavender, and rosemary on the nose and palate, with a lip-smacklingly sappy finish mingled with salt. A blend of Niellucciu and Sciacarellu."

Here is a blended picture of all that we tasted!

Thank you David at Siegel's for posting this fun tasting in Crave dfw. 

Siegel's on Greenville in Dallas

DCC Half-Priced Bottle Night Every Wednesday Night! #wilsondaniels Buglioni Amarone

We are pretty much regulars when it comes to half-priced bottle night at the club. Aaron, our sommelier, wanted us to try something off the continent from our normal adventures of trying new wines. I said go for it and he headed straight for the cellar. Aaron never tells us what he has in mind, but chooses to leave us in suspense. All we have to do is tell him red or white and off he goes! 

Here's what he brought back! 
2008 Buglioni Amarone della Valpolicella Classico ($70)

The Buglioni family was tired of living in a larger village in Italy and wanted a more relaxing countryside of Cariano. They bought an old farmhouse surrounded by vineyards and olive trees. After two months of living in the countryside and without any knowledge of how to make wine, the vineyards were ready to be harvested. This was the beginning of a dream to become "real" winemakers.

 The winemaker's notes-"Dark ruby-red color. Intense and elegant aromas of ripe fruit, raisins and spices with vanilla, tobacco, cocoa and anise. Persistent, warm flavors, velvety and harmonious. This is a wine for meditation - a protagonist on its own. It is traditionally paired with game, grilled beef, stew, braised meat and mature cheeses, however, the smoothness of its dry fruit allows for modern and daring pairing."

A delicious wine to be shared with the one you love!

NYC Wine and More Rose'

Rose' in France, rosado in Portugal or Spanish-speaking countries, or rosato in Italy-whatever you prefer to call it, is the wine of the summer for my oldest daughter and her husband. While in NYC, we tried several rose's when we dined.

Rose's can be produced in a variety of ways with the most common method being the early pressing of the red grape varieties after a very short period, usually 12-14 hours after skin contact called maceration.

The color of the wine definitely influences consumer's choice of the rose's they purchase. In blind tastings, the lighter rose's have always been the preferred choice. 

2014 Domaine de la Noblaie Chinon ($15) produced from the young vines of Cabernet Franc. It has a clear and smooth pink color and has a lovely fresh and very fruity taste. 

2014 Santi Infinito Rose' ($12), a product of Italia. This rose' is a deep pink color with red tints, but very zesty and savory with a fresh fruity taste.

2014 Laurent Miquel Pere de Fils ($9) A Cinsault Syrah with a pale strawberry color, wonderfully fresh red berries aroma, smooth on the palate, a good dose of acidity that leads to a lovely finish.

2014 Chateau La Gordonne La Chapelle Gordonne Rose' Tete de Cuvee ($28) A light pink with hints of peach, light shines through it to give it a radiant glow. Fresh fruits and floral notes of roses and violets.

Cotes de Provence CoRail de Roquefort Rose' ($16) both smooth and beautifully fruity, a blend of six different grape varitials which probably leads to its pale orange color.

Room too dark to see the color!

2014 Villa Des Anges Old Vines Rose' ($12) an amazing value for a dry, French rose' made of 100% Cinsault, intensely crisp and vividly fresh. 

Dark blue bottle

The last rose' is a 2014 Clos Beylesse ($26), a wonderfully pale, dry, rich in flowery bouquet and elegant wine.

If I've left some out, so sorry! This though, is enough to have you running to your local wine stop and get on board with the most underrated wine. Some people think it's not a notable wine, but there are amazing rose's out there as well as any other varietal of wine! Enjoy!

NYC Trip with the Bowers!

via internet

I love New York City and although I've only been there twice in my life, it still is a city that mesmerizes me with how much there is to do, to see, to eat, to experience, to live! When my oldest daughter said they would be there in August and my husband said he had a business trip the same week, we quickly made plans to vacay together while the husbands were at meetings. We planned where to stay and when to arrive near each other's flight. Don didn't arrive until Thursday evening after his business in Albany. So my room at the Hyatt Grand Central was party central for my 10 and 12 year old granddaughters!

Natalie and I had the whole trip plan as far as eating goes. We had made reservations at several places before arriving in NYC.

Here are the places we ate that are a must when in NYC! BTW, it was restaurant week-a big plus for us!

IL Cantinori, a Tuscan cuisine upscale restaurant that wasn't stuffy at all!

Laduree SOHO, a French tea room that the little girlies just loved! One of only three in the USA. 

Koi-Bryant Park, a traditional Japanese restaurant enhanced with modern California accents.

Le District, an amazing French-inspired market of "culinary-specific food stations, highly anticipated restaurants, and a fresh grocery curated by our talented chefs and taste-makers."

Chelsea Market, a fun warehouse full of shops and places to eat.

 I'll stop here and get to the wine next time! There's so much to share!

Until then!

Parker's taking us somewhere else to eat!!!!